St. Louis, flurries, high 18 F, low 7 F, that’s -7 C to -13 C.
Shanghai, snow, high 41°F (5°C), low 38°F (3°C).
Shanghai also had its first round of snow today. When I was talking to the taxi driver this morning, he told me his daughter was really excited about the snow because she never saw such snow before. To be honest, there is really not too much compare to the snow we saw in St. Louis.
Do I really want to go back to the cold winter in St. Louis? Well, it seems I have to because I burned all the cash I brought with me.
Just kidding. As much as I love my families, friends and things in Shanghai, I love my job and friends back in St. Louis, too. I know I will be welcomed by both my buddies and my cats. Just as I was well treated here in Shanghai and Ningbo. I feel both places like my home now. Actually I started to take buses instead of taxi these days because I felt more close to the common people that way (I myself am an average Joe too). It’s more convenient to take bus sometimes. Especially during rush hours or rainy days when it’s hard to get a taxi.
Talking about impression about Shanghai. I think it’s best to be summerized in one popular game name: WOW. I left Shanghai in 1997 and this is my first time I spent significant time here. The change is tremendous. The new metro lines. The luxury brands. Today I saw a Ferrari dealership opposite to a McDonald restaurant in Nanjing Rd. The tall buildings. The cars and traffic. The road. The bars. The coffee shops. The hair color of ladies and girls.
And the people. To be honest I felt a bit uneasy by the number of the people in Shanghai Book City in Fuzhou Road this afternoon. I guess it’s because the new semester just got started, the students are getting books. I saw a girl student is buying “C++ Premier” Chinese version. When I asked her whether she is Computer Science major, she told me she is Engineering student and she is interested in computer. I like the attitude of these young people. I never saw so many people in Borders or Barnes&Nobel in the States, hungry for the knowledge. I believe that’s one reason more and more foreign companies are setting up R&D shops here. And hopefully I will join the force in the very near future.
I also meet my cousin and her husband this moring. And some of my graduate school classmates in the evening. Everyone is doing well although I understand they all face things much harder than mine. Maybe the secret is they all have a happy family. My cousin told me she used to commute 2 hours one way by bus and metro. Note she is more than 15 years older than me. Now I will be more humble and patient when I stuck in the traffic in rare occasions in St. Louis. Most of time I spent 15 minutes one way. Lucky me.